CAAD students at MSU compete to design Golden Triangle resource center for local nonprofit
Contact: Christie McNeal
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A design and construction project for a local nonprofit organization has allowed Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design students to develop collaborative skills and tackle real-world challenges this semester in the Golden Triangle.
Thirteen teams comprised of students from CAAD majors—architecture, art, building construction science and interior design—competed for a cash prize in the annual Brasfield & Gorrie Student Design Competition. First launched in 2011, the competition is sponsored by one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms based in Birmingham, Alabama. Brasfield & Gorrie also has an office in Jackson, which opened in 2015. The competition simulates real-world design processes with a goal of helping students overcome preconceived ideas of the roles traditionally assumed by the various disciplines in the college.
This year’s competition tasked students with developing a comprehensive design, construction and branding plan for a housing resource center serving Starkville Strong, a nonprofit that provides essential support to residents in need. The center, named The Stronghold, is to be housed in an existing building and must include an office with a meeting room, a food pantry, overnight shelter accommodations, staff parking and outdoor space for clients.
Students had to incorporate solutions to current issues impacting the design and construction industry; consider environmental impacts; and align with the client’s interests of security, dignity, comfort and community.
Graphic design senior Kaylee Gould said her biggest takeaway with this collaborative project has revolved around communication.
“It’s been cool to see our different majors work together,” she said, adding that her team learned the need to explain their work to each other because they all have different backgrounds.
Gould said she helped her team learn the importance of cohesiveness in branding, and she learned about the weight of symbols and icons in signage.
“Not everyone can read, and not everyone can see,” she said. “I hadn’t considered that before relating to wayfinding. We are learning a lot from each other we can use in future work.”
Final projects were presented to representatives from Brasfield & Gorrie and Starkville Strong. MSU faculty overseeing the competition included Lecturer in Architecture Ryan Ashford, Associate Professor of Architecture Alexis Gregory, Associate Professor of Interior Design Lyndsey Miller, Associate Professor of Art Suzanne Powney and Visiting Assistant Professor of Building Construction Science Roberto Soares.
Honorees, by hometown, included:
FIRST PLACE – Team 11
BYHALIA—Ashley Howard, interior design
CHESAPEAKE, Virginia—Shelby Dehard, architecture
CLINTON—Mallory Morris, interior design
MADISON—Thomas Smith, building construction science
MADISON, Alabama—Olyvia English, architecture
MILLINGTON, Tennessee—Cole Stevens, building construction science
STARKVILLE—James Porter, architecture
TOBYHANNA, Pennsylvania—Abigail Crocker, architecture
WOODBRIDGE, Virginia—Laine Hodanich, architecture
HONORABLE MENTION – Team 13
BRANDON—Charles Whittington, building construction science
BRENTWOOD, Tennessee—Luke Watson, building construction science
CANTON, Georgia—Gracielle Weil, architecture
FAIRVIEW, Tennessee—Keeley Kravanek, interior design
HATTIESBURG—Dylan Irby, architecture
MONROE, Georgia—Katherine Krawczyk, interior design
STARKVILLE—Ella Elliott, architecture; and Falon Laird, architecture
Learn more about MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design and its academic programs at www.caad.msstate.edu and on Facebook and Instagram @CAADatMSU.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.